Aetna Healthy World Innovation

Effective, efficient, ease of use, simplicity, economical, and transparent are words rarely associated with the healthcare system. Most will agree the United States system is one that has ample opportunities for advancement, but how the advancements are made, is the great debate. This paper will focus on Aetna and provide a new mission and vision for the company based on their current strategic plan.

Wearable Technology is one of the many innovative devices used to achieve goals, manage money, and stay organized. Technology aims to create innovative ideas for not only these aspects, but to also help people become aware of their health. Starting in the year 2015, Ochsner Health System began asking entrepreneurs nationwide, to submit suggestions on possible wearable technology, that may ameliorate how patients monitor diabetes, heart disease, and other chronic illnesses. Ochsner's chief clinical transformation officer, Richard Milani, discovered Louisiana is fifth in the nation for rates of heart disease and diabetes. With a number so high ranked in the nation, Milani believes this makes Louisiana the ideal place for testing new technology,

Aetna’s customized iTriage app helps employers make better health care decisions based on appropriateness and affordability of care. Aetna launched this customizable app to allow customization of information for consumers based on their specific health benefits plan. It helps employers to understand how using an in-network health care provider can be more affordable, which can also be used to create cost savings for employers and reduce administrative work for health care providers, who will benefit from informed patients, who have selected the right physician, facility and level of care based on their individual needs. The iTriage app is Aetna’s vision of creating a better healthcare experience for their customers and their employers (Aetna,

Kristi Henderson talked about the transformation of healthcare using technology for the improvement of accessibility, health, and to lowering costs (attachment VI.A).

“Our values carry through our thoughts and actions every day, inspire innovation in our products and services, and drive our commitment to excellence in all we do” Chairman, CEO, and President Mark Bertolini stated. Aetna’s core values consist of three factors such as, simplicity, focus, and connection. These factors provide a simple process to help Aetna give customers an enhanced health care system. An improved health care system leads to doctors, hospitals, and health networks to stay focus on Aetna’s customers and their health. Aetna also believes that a more effective system is the one that stays connected, using the right technology to connect individuals and their health care team; thus, they will be able to provide a more convenient care for their customers. Aetna follows four more values. These values include showing their integrity by doing the right thing, showing their excellence by delivering the highest quality of service, showing appreciation by listening and respecting their customer, and showing inspiration by exploring new ideas to make a better world (Aetna Values, n.d.). The company’s values are significantly important to achieve the company’s mission and entitle the culture of the

Going back hundreds of years, we can trace the history of health care. Although it has evolved over the years, it all has a common goal; to heal those who are ill. Technology is one of the major evolutions and now plays a big role in the health care system. It helps patients to be more involved with their healthcare. They can make appointments, follow up on test results, and contact their doctors. Back then, they didn’t even have all the medicine we have now, let alone the technology. We can only imagine what is in store for the future.

But as noted previously, more is needed than standardizing these processes. Health care providers (physicians and hospitals) should embrace electronic health records (EHRs) and should integrate appropriate information from billing systems with clinical information (the recording and analysis of clinical services) from EHRs (Wikler et al., 2012; Cutler et al., 2012). To address concerns that occur due to accessing medical records, the secretary of health and human services could expand criteria under the Health information Technology for Economic and Clinical

The health care industry is one of the most dynamic and delicate industries in the U.S. having experienced healthy and substantial changes for the last thirty years most of which have aimed to improve health care management and services delivery to the patients. The changes have enabled the integration of technology into the industry such as in the area of informatics, science and research and payment services and clinical treatments. The health care sector has introduced various changes to address disease and health care management such as the Modernization Act of 2003, the Patient Protection Act and Affordable Act, which aim at improving health provision and most

Advances in modern technology surrounds us in our day to day lives, allowing conveniences and efficiency at our fingertips. Great strides have been made over the years with technology, and the healthcare industry along with many other industries have adopted this new way of functioning; electronically. The effects of technology have come to the forefront in where our government has acknowledged the benefits and opportunities. “The promise of Health Information Technology for improving quality and safety of health care while reducing costs has caught the eye of policy makers and other leaders in health care” (Hersh, 2006). It deeply affects how we connect, interact, and communicate internally and externally, but also gives us a sense of control on how we engage ourselves to the innovative software and systems.

Medical care is making a switch to Electronic Health Records. The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology provided incentives to hospitals and other medical institutions to use electronic health records for "Meaningful Use" (Saba

With the healthcare world evolving the need for traditional provider-patient relationships is changing toward a more complex system. That would allow caregivers and their patients to have a chance to become an active part of the healthcare path. Along with the continuous chance of healthcare business models the way technology is seen is most healthcare systems. The technology is visible and yet seem

While HPMG utilization of health information technology in three distinct manners certainly puts them ahead of many healthcare providers back in 2007, with ARRA and ACA, healthcare providers are required to implement electronic health records in some form. By 2013 over 63% of physicians in the United States adopted electronic health records and another 28% have a system partially implemented or plan to implement one in the next two years (The Commonwealth Fund, 2015). With 91% of physicians either having a system implemented or planning to implement, electronic health records are certainly a system that was replicated throughout healthcare in 2014.

The United States healthcare system needed resuscitation long before President Obama signed the Affordable Care Act (ACA) of 2009 into law. Never has medicine made such strides as seen today in treating acute and chronic diseases and helping Americans achieve a higher level of wellness and unsurpassed longevity. However, for all of medicine’s remarkable achievements, there is the uncomfortable dichotomy of fragmented care, out of control costs, unacceptable numbers of preventable deaths caused by medical errors, and millions of uninsured children and adults with little to no access to quality care. There was never a debate about the need for healthcare reform, rather the debate centered on how reform would translate into meaningful and measurable changes. Legislators knew a pivotal player in improving healthcare in this country would be to harness the power of technology to reshape everything we know about delivering care. Although it has been far from smooth sailing, the healthcare industry is now experiencing an uncomfortable adjustment to the Affordable Care Act, the HITECH act, and the Health Data Initiative (HDI). These initiatives all require a commitment to build on the information technology infrastructure to create a safer, less costly, and more reliable healthcare system. The following narrative explains the acts requirements, challenges, and leadership’s roles in implementing this new normal. In addition,

Electronic health records (EHR’s) have many advantages, but there are plenty of disadvantages. EHR’s were created to manage the many aspects of healthcare information. Medical professionals use them daily and most would feel lost without it. Healthcare organizations were encouraged to adopt EHR’s in 2009 due to the fact that a bill passed known as The Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (HITECH Act). “The HITECH Act outlines criteria to achieve “meaningful use” of certified electronic records. These criteria must be met in order for providers to receive financial incentives to promote adoption of EHRs as an integral part of their daily practice”, (Conrad, Hanson, Hasenau & Stocker-Schneider, 2012).

Disruptive innovation process is for all businesses and in health care it is proved to be the most useful innovation because it helped in making healthcare available for all and affordable for all. The well design model of business administration used by big industries to cut down the cost and making the expensive technological services and goods available to mass is called "Disruptive Innovation''. This process used in health care has changed the affordability and make it accessible to all general people.